Conventionally, doors are mounted in a rotational engagement using hinge pins secured to a door jamb wall. In this rotatable engagement the door is free to rotate about its hinges from an open position extending at an angle from the wall supporting a door jamb, to a closed position substantially flush with the wall and surrounded by the door jamb on four sides.
Because of the size and mass of most doors and the relatively small area between the side edges of the door and the surface of the surrounding door jamb, a great amount of force may be generated by a closing door. This force combined with a perpendicular leading angle to a closing door approaching the jamb can cause severe injury to the fingers of a child or to a child's hand that is in the wrong position as the door closes. With young children in the house, and in some cases even adults, finger injuries from closing doors have become ever more common and severe injury or amputation can occur when a finger becomes caught or pinched between the leading edge of a closing door and the door jamb in the wall.
An additional concern is damage to the door and jamb themselves should any objects be intentionally or accidentally positioned between the door and jamb from a deliberate or accidental insertion. This type of problem can occur when children are playing with a door, or slamming it or inserting toys or objects to prevent closure by another child.
Yet an additional consideration for many homeowners is the prevention of door closing in instances where it is desirous to maintain a door in a somewhat open position. For instance when a child is sleeping in a room it may be desirous to substantially close the door to limit noise to the room; however, it is also desirous to leave the door open slightly so that the child can be heard if awakened. Securing the door in a slightly open position also has the benefit of preventing other children and/or pets from entering the room while at the same time allowing for fresh air circulation. Another consideration for a slightly open door is that of pet owners who may want to leave a pet inside a room but avoid total closure of the door in order to allow the pet to hear what is going on elsewhere and to allow the owner to hear the pet. Fresh air circulation is very beneficial in this situation as well.
Yet an additional consideration for many homeowners is the prevention of children or pets from entering a room that is not safe or is off limits. The most popular products currently available for this purpose only work with a narrow range of doorknobs. The growing popularity of door levers and nonstandard doorknob shapes and sizes has significantly limited available solutions for many homeowners. Most of the remaining options require adhesives or hardware for installation, which is cumbersome and can cause damage to the door and/or frame.
As such, there is a continuing unmet need for an improved device which has the benefit of preventing the door from closing completely while at the same time preventing individuals from entering or leaving the secured room. Such a device should be easily engageable to the door independent of the style of door knob or lever being used. Further such a device should be adapted to prevent damage to the door and jamb. The installation height should also be adjustable to allow operation by shorter individuals while still preventing operation by those who are being denied passage in or out of the secured room.
Most conventional door safety devices are directed at prevention of operation of the handle, and therefore the ability to open the door. The logic is that if the child cannot open the door, the child cannot leave through it and therefore won't get his fingers into the door jamb during door closure since it remains closed. These devices generally are a cover for the door handle which slips if not gripped tightly enough, or if not manipulated in a mechanical fashion to engage and interlock to allow rotation of the handle. Most children do not have the strength to compress the spinning handle type devices nor the mechanical prowess to engage the mechanical door handle devices to allow rotation of the handle.
A few devices have made attempts to address the issue of maintaining a door in an ajar position for injury prevention while concurrently preventing opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,620,483 (Weinberger) teaches a door check in the form of a resilient yoke member which is engageable to the top edge of the door. The yoke member has a tail extension defining a channel adapted to be snap-fit over a bead on a rail member which is affixed to a supporting surface. Weinberger secures the door open; however, among other deficiencies, it is limited to an overhead mount on the door where many people would be unable to install or operate the device and it provides no means for storage to the door when not in use. The user would also be required to place his or her fingers in an unsafe position between the door and the door frame during operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,618,348 (Nicolai) teaches a device to prevent door opening and closure; however, Nicolai requires a permanent installation using screws in the door and provides no means for temporary storage engaged to the door itself to encourage usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,867 (Siden) discloses a device for securing and latching a door in a pre-determined position relative to the frame preventing a door from reaching the fully closed position. However, Siden requires a permanent installation limiting use to one door and marring the surface on removal. The device does not provide a means to prevent the door from being opened. Additionally, the Siden device can be implemented to allow closure making accidental injury a possibility even when installed.
Consequently, there exists a need for a door safety device which will maintain a door in a predetermined distance from the jam when installed. Such a device, by preventing closure and maintaining distance, will encourage use in situations where a child or pet is denied access to a secured room but air circulation is still desirable. Such a device, by preventing closure and maintaining distance, will encourage use in situations where a child or pet is left in a room and a passage for sound transmission is desired rather than total closure. Such a device should allow for a temporary installation which will encourage use since it will not mar or mark the door. In such a temporary installation, such a device will also encourage or allow use on one or a plurality of doors in a household, thereby allowing users to chose any door for use and injury prevention.
Further, such a device should provide means for temporary storage on the door itself to maintain the device adjacent to the door rather than storage in a remote area since immediate access to the device will encourage consistent use.
Still further, such a device should be automatically engaged when door closure is attempted and should be safely releasable from either side of the door and adapted for installation on a side edge at a height where it may be reached by shorter adults but out of reach by smaller children which it protects. Such a device should be easy enough for older children to operate while still denying access to younger siblings. Such a device should help prevent door pinch injuries in all of the above applications. Finally such a device should be adapted to function as a door stop only, thereby increasing overall utility.
With respect to the above, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components or steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatus and methods of the invention are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other door closure prevention devices, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the objects and claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.